Mother's Deli rejects plea offer

Steamboat Springs  A bar owner cited for allowing a visibly intoxicated patron to loiter on the bar's premises last fall has rejected the city's plea offer.

Stephen Chavez, owner of Mother's Deli, did not accept the city's offer to suspend the business' liquor license for 21 days with seven days served and 14 held in abeyance Thursday during a meeting of the city's Liquor License Authority. The Steamboat Springs City Council serves as the authority.

Chavez is the first business owner to reject a plea offer since the city began handling all liquor violations last year.

The case is scheduled for a show cause hearing at the Liquor License Authority's next meeting on Feb. 1.

City Clerk Julie Jordan said city staff, including Jordan, police Capt. Joel Rae and Assistant City Attorney Dan Foote, offered Chavez the agreement after taking into consideration an earlier citation that was handled by the state's Liquor Enforcement Division. The city is now handling the September citation as a second offense, which carries a more severe suspension.

Mother's Deli was first cited in July for allowing open containers of alcohol to leave the premises. The business' liquor license was suspended for five days in November for the offense.

The show cause hearing was set for February because the Liquor License Authority will not meet in January.

Comments

A bar owner cited for allowing a visibly intoxicated patron to loiter on the bar's premises....

Is this all there is to it? Were they serving the patron or just allowing him/her to hang around and possibly sober up? Was the patron causing trouble that the bartender was allowing to happen? I guess I need more of the story before I jump to a conclusion that the bar was at fault. With just these facts it sounds like the liquor authority is trying to prove it's power and use this bar to set an example. If this is indeed all there is to it, the first cite was warranted, this one would be a farce.